I Know A Father Who Had A Son
by ice princess deluxe
Summary: Collection of thirty short stories and drabbles for my Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru claim over at the LiveJournal community 30shards.
1. Legend

Title: #1 Legend

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Sometimes the source material is better than the fabrications.

Blanket disclaimer: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru don't belong to me. Property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Series note: done for the livejournal community 30shards. Unless otherwise stated in individual notes, all of these are stand-alone one-shots. Some may be longer stories while others are short mini-drabbles.

* * *

"Tell me a story, Jaken-sama," Rin cajoled, her arms curled around her knees. Sesshoumaru leaned against a tree nearby and listened with half an ear as Jaken protested and as Rin eventually wore him down. His eyebrow rose fractionally as his retainer wove a story about his great and terrible father.

_He wasn't like that,_ Sesshoumaru thought. _Well, not all the time._ It was true that Inutaisho was merciless to his enemies and without peer on the battlefield, but he had also been wise, providing advice when it was needed, even if said information was delivered in a cryptic fashion.

Jaken also skimmed over the fact that Inutaisho had been quick to anger, yet even quicker to laugh. Where his laughter hadn't been exactly infectious, his angry growls had sounded as ominous as peals of thunder. His hands had been warm and gentle, yet held such tremendous potential for violence and destruction. His arms had once been a childhood safe haven where everything was simple, where everything felt safe.

Looking back at Rin, who was now sitting enthralled by the tales of his father's deeds and not the least bit sleepy, he opened his mouth. "That is enough," Sesshoumaru said, "Go to sleep, Rin."

He moved his head to stare at the canopy of leaves above him and thought about how legends sometimes paled in comparison to the real thing.


	2. Juggling

Title: #2 Juggling

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Life, like everything else, is a balancing act.

* * *

Sesshoumaru found his father sitting in the gardens, two plums gracefully moving in an arc in front of him. Sitting down beside him, Sesshoumaru watched as Inutaisho carefully added another fruit, then another until he had all of them in the air.

He smiled and handed two of them to Sesshoumaru, who instantly tried to emulate him, but his hands would always fumble.

"What am I doing wrong?" he asked, watching his father's movements.

"You focus too much on a single fruit," he calmly replied. "Concentrating on something single-mindedly causes one to lose focus on everything else around them."

Sesshoumaru tried again, this time paying attention to both plums.

"Good, now try with more." Juggling three in the air worked for a while until his fingers slipped.

"Another lesson, my boy," his father told him. "If you take on more than you can handle, you are likely to drop everything. Know your limits." He sank his teeth into one of the plums still in his hands, leaning against the tree as he watched his son practice.

"Father?" Sesshoumaru asked, leaning against Inutaisho. "How _do_ you know your limits?"

"It isn't easy," he admitted. "Ambition can blind you, preventing you from seeing the bigger picture. Things that seem so simple in the beginning can suddenly become complex. It is a matter of finding the correct balance."

"How do you do that?"

Inutaisho wiped a thin trail of juice off his son's chin with his thumb. "That, I cannot tell you. One way may work for some where it does not work for others. Experience can only teach you which way is best."

They finished their snack in peace, Sesshoumaru quietly pleased that his plum pit skipped the surface of the nearby pond further than his father's.


	3. Fate

Title: #3 Fate

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: He didn't believe that things went on a predestined track. He felt cheated.

* * *

His father had once said everyone was tied to their fate. Everything was already pre-determined and the decisions one made in life were ultimately made for them.

Sesshoumaru didn't believe this, believing instead that a human woman had cut his father's life short and robbed Sesshoumaru of his chance to win his father's title in a fair fight instead of inheriting it as he had.


	4. Kiss

Title: #4 Kiss

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru, Rin

Rating: G

Summary: It was the little things that you thought you'd outgrown that you wind up missing the most.

* * *

He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he brushed his lips quickly over the sleeping girl's forehead. He could recall his own father doing the same when his dreams had been plagued with horrors and that touch had always been enough to banish them.

He had missed that simple comfort, even years after he had felt he had outgrown such childish ways.


	5. Memories

Title: #5 Memories

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: When everything is quiet, he lets himself remember.

* * *

Late at night, when his retainers were asleep and the only thing audible was the great liquid snufflings of Ah Un, Sesshoumaru would let himself think on the past. Here were the hours, days, weeks, months, years of training, his skills progressing with each passing season. There were the injuries he had obtained, each of them serving as lessons to move quicker, strike harder, to never underestimate his opponent.

In the middle of them all, his father was always present. Sesshoumaru let his mind wander, sifting through each.

"_Remember, my boy,"_ his father had said once. _"This sword may allow you to kill a great deal of enemies in a single blow, but it takes a truly wise person to know when to harness this ability and when to stay your hand."_

That had been many decades before a human woman had come into the picture, when he had been the sole son and there hadn't been a question as to who would get his father's legacy. He often wondered just when his father had come to the decision to change all of that.

It didn't matter, he concluded, rubbing at the remains of his left arm as a phantom pain pulsed, making him believe for a brief moment that he still had a hand that could hurt. In the end, he would own that blade, he was certain.


	6. Victory

Title: #6 Victory

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Surpassing his father should have felt better than this.

* * *

"I have nothing more to teach you." The words should have made him happy; that he had learned everything he possibly could from his father, that perhaps now he could surpass him in knowledge. It should have been a victory of sorts.

Instead, he watched his father's image fade away and wanted nothing more than to know how to keep him there in front of him.


	7. Longing

Title: #7 Longing

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha

Rating: G

Summary: Times like these, Sesshoumaru thought Inuyasha was the luckier sibling.

Note: This story is a companion piece to #19 Jealousy.

* * *

"You don't even know what Father looked like," he had spat at Inuyasha, anger coloring his words and erasing the careful façade of indifference he had worked so hard to create. _He_ had known what their father had looked like. He had been the one to grow up at their father's side, to absorb everything he had to teach. He had spoken with him, known what made him angry and what had made him laugh.

He shook his head bitterly. Times like these, he felt as if Inuyasha was better off being ignorant; he never knew their father, therefore he could never miss him as Sesshoumaru did.


	8. Revenge

Title: A Dish Gone Cold (#8 Revenge)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: "Will revenge make things better?"

* * *

Sesshoumaru stared at the figure pinned to the side of the mountain by one of Inutaisho's massive claws. He knew that it was not dead and he fought the urge to end its life, just as it had ended his father's.

He suddenly thought back to a time when he was still young. A wasp had stung him, and although he was immune to its venom, it had still hurt a great deal. Angry, he had caught it one-handed and contemplated how to kill it. Using his poison to slowly melt it had won over quickly smashing it against a rock.

"What are you doing?" his father had asked, coming up the neatly tended dirt path. Sesshoumaru had explained what had happened, to which his father had cocked his head to the side.

"So you are punishing this creature for doing what it is in his nature to do?" Inutaisho had crouched down to inspect his son's hand. "Will killing it make your hand better?" Truthfully, Sesshoumaru's hand had already healed.

"No."

"Then what will you do?"

Sesshoumaru looked again at the trapped Ryukotsusei before turning on his heel and walking away. Killing him would not bring his father back.


	9. Sunset

Title: Stargazing (#9 Sunset)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: He could never keep his eyes open long enough to see daybreak.

* * *

Evening was his favorite part of the day, especially on the days that his father allowed him to stay up late. They would sit in silence, watching as the sun slowly crept down past the line of trees bordering their home, bathing everything in a golden glow. They would continue silently watching the sky fade to lavender, then grow darker and darker, their eyes adjusting to the change in light.

It was only when the fist stars started peering out of the darkness did his father speak.

"What is that one named?" Sesshoumaru would scrunch his face up, trying to recall all the names and positions of each star. His father told him that at night, when visible borders to other territories were less evident, knowing where the stars fell in alignment would be of the utmost importance, not only for the season they were currently in, but all year round.

Sesshoumaru would listen intently to his father's lecture, repeating everything back to him until the sky started to grow light. Yet try as he might, he could never keep his eyes open long enough to watch the sky do a reverse performance, bathing everything in gold yet again. He would feel his head go heavy, then a feeling of weightlessness and then a heavy hand smoothing over his head. Later that day, he'd wake in his own bed, the haori his father had draped over his shoulders as the night grew colder still around him, acting as a blanket.


	10. Weapon

Title: The Pen is Mightier (#10 Weapon)

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Not all weapons are made of steel and fang.

* * *

"Which shall you practice with today?" Sesshoumaru glanced at the sword at his father's side, but knew it was pointless to ask. He and his father had been over the subject time and again, each time the answer had been "not yet." He picked a sword from the weapon rack instead, its weight comfortable in his hand.

"What of you?"

His father smiled mysteriously. "I already have mine." He nodded and gestured for his son to attack.

Sesshoumaru began with a graceful arc, his body in alignment, his moves perfectly executed.

His father dodged the attack easily. "Is that all?" he asked, his voice carrying a slight tone of annoyance. Sesshoumaru attacked again, this time with a move that was sure to hit his father's armor. "Feh," his father said dismissively. "And here I thought I had trained you to use a blade. _Obviously,_ I was wrong."

He watched as his son's eyes narrowed in response to his words as the fight went on. At each insult, Sesshoumaru's attacks became sloppier and less disciplined.

"You are weak," Inutaisho finally said with disdain. "At this rate, you will _never_ best me."

Sesshoumaru growled, his eyes bleeding red. He charged his father without any clear attack tactic. Inutaisho neatly sidestepped him, using his foot to trip his son up. Sword clattering to the ground several feet away from him, Sesshoumaru turned over and bared his claws, the tips glowing green.

Inutaisho promptly sat on his son, pinning his arms with his feet.

"An important lesson, my boy," he said, looking as if sitting atop an enraged demon younger than he was an everyday occurrence. "One I will impart on you once you calm down."

Sesshoumaru froze and then looked as if he was trying to get his temper carefully in check. "I am calm," he said, his words clipped.

"Not as much as I'd like you to be, but it will do." Inutaisho stood up and held out a hand to his son. "Not all weapons are made of metal," he started. "Nor are they all made from bone, claw, fang or poison. Never forget that words can be powerful weapons; the correct combination slicing through your opponent as well as any physical blade can.

"Of _course_ I do not think you weak. You may be inexperienced, but you are proving to be quite strong for your age. When you get older, I believe you will be a force to be reckoned with." He clapped his son on the shoulder and watched as dawning realization made the last of the red bleed from his eyes and the markings across his cheeks smooth out.

"Just remember, when faced with an opponent, find the right words that will turn the fight in your favor."

Hundreds of years later, Sesshoumaru used his father's lesson to his advantage, beating back –yet not defeating – his younger half-brother amid a sea of bamboo. One day, he vowed, he would find the correct words that would not only anger the whelp enough for him to drop his guard, but end him once and for all.


	11. Magic

Title: Making Music From Air (#11 Magic)

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru, Rin

Rating: G

Summary: Looking at Rin, he felt as if a cycle had been completed.

* * *

Looking at Rin, he felt as if a cycle had been completed. Instead of sitting where she was, wide-eyed and enthralled, he was now in his father's place.

"Listen, the grass will sing for us." He plucked a blade and held it to his lips, watching as Rin searched, just as he had, for the key to performing such magic herself.

"_Take joy in discovering new things,"_ his father had told him once. Looking down at the young girl who was staring cross-eyed at a blade of grass between her fingers, he did just that. A shrill whistle followed by childish laughter made a ghost of a smile momentarily flit over his lips.


	12. Advice

Title: Seeking Outside Help (#12 Advice)

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: "There are many whom I speak with before putting a plan into action."

* * *

While playing amid the leafy boughs of the ancient tree demon had been fun, he had to ask. "Why were we here?"

"For advice," his father answered.

Sesshoumaru tugged on his father's sleeve. His fingers were slightly sticky with sap. "Why?"

"Because it is arrogant to believe that you can decide things without consulting others. There are many whom I speak with before putting a plan into action."

This was news to Sesshoumaru. "Really?"

"Really. Some day I hope that you can do the same."

Later on, Sesshoumaru looked back on that conversation. Those around him were either afraid of him, irritatingly cryptic, hard to reach, or too busy trying to please him to give him a straight answer. In the end, he kept his own council, arrogance or no, falling back on everything his father taught him when he felt as if he needed guidance.


	13. Rain

Title: #13 Rain

Character/ Pairing: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Small children cooped up during a rainy day become bored quickly.

* * *

The rain fell in thick drops outside. Sighing, Sesshoumaru sat on the floor and counted each and every one of them, his chin resting on his fisted hands. It was silent in his father's study; the only noises heard were the faint swish of his father's brush and the heavy plop of rain on the open doorway.

"What is troubling you, my boy?" his father asked finally. He too had been counting, except instead of rain, he had been listening to the sounds of his young son's sighs.

Sesshoumaru sighed again; despite being inwardly pleased with the way his father addressed him. Everybody else called him Sesshoumaru-sama, but not him. "_Nothing_." Sesshoumaru managed to level his voice so that the single declaration came out just as bored sounding as he was.

His father smirked, but continued to write. "Then if nothing troubles you, why the sighs?"

Another sigh answered him. "I wanted to play outside today, but it's _raining_." Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru couldn't keep his voice at the slightly bored tone and the last bit sounded petulant.

His back to Sesshoumaru, Inutaisho let his lips quirk up in a grin. Setting the ink brush aside, he turned to his son. "Ah yes, an important lesson there."

"It is?" Sesshoumaru looked up with wide eyes at his father, eager to hear him impart some gem of wisdom. Inutaisho smiled, knowing that it was rare for the young boy to show much emotion. He was a quiet one; Inutaisho always figured he got it from his mother's side of the family. Heaven knew that his own relatives were more expressive.

"Yes. Even though you may be a powerful demon lord, you still have no sway over nature itself. It reminds you that there are some things that are beyond your control."

Sesshoumaru made a face. "But does it have to be so _boring_ inside in the meantime?"

Inutaisho laughed, amused by his son's curled lip and scrunched up nose. The boy took himself far too seriously sometimes and it was good to see him still act his age instead of as an old man trapped in a child's body. "You could always see if Jaken needs any help."

"He's hiding somewhere." Truth be told, Inutaisho knew that _Jaken needs any help _usually wound up translating into _Sesshoumaru is kicking Jaken around the castle_, so the toad demon was more than likely trying to escape his young master's wrath for the day.

"You could continue your studies."

"I finished for the day."

_Should I suggest cleaning his room?_ he wondered, then shook his head.He'd only be answered with a horrified face. Besides, the boy's sleeping quarters were immaculate. Well then. I see no other solution to your boredom save one." Getting up from his desk, he walked the scant distance to where his son was crouched. He gave a mischievous grin as his only warning before gently shoving Sesshoumaru outside into the rain. Sesshoumaru made a choked sound at the back of his throat, something caught between a bark and an 'ack' noise. He was instantly soaked through, his hair plastered to his scalp.

"What did you do that for?" Sesshoumaru asked angrily, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes. He would have been enraged if his father had shut the shoji screen closed behind him, but instead his anger died down and confusion took its place when Inutaisho stepped outside with him.

"You wanted to play, yes?" He crossed his arms over his chest and flicked his head slightly, sending a spray of rainwater towards his son.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru said hesitantly, tilting his head to see if he could find any hidden meaning to his father's words. After a few moments of not speaking, the both of them getting wet, Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. Inutaisho smirked again, thinking that when he was grown the look might be intimidating, but for now he just looked like a drowned puppy squinting through his hair.

Inutaisho bent and picked his son up, slinging him up to eye level easily. He used a finger to pull the hair out of Sesshoumaru's eyes and tucked it behind his ear. "There is another lesson to be learned here, my boy. Even if some things are beyond your control does not mean that you can't still try to do whatever it is that you want." He set Sesshoumaru down and jogged a little ways ahead, jerking his head to tell him to follow him.

Mud squished between Sesshoumaru's bare toes and he shook his body almost violently to free his arms from his now sodden kimono. All the movement did was spray more water all over the place and get his hair back into his eyes. Jaken was going to get mad when he saw the state of his masters when they finally came back inside, especially if any mud stained the tatami mats indoors. An evil grin spread over Sesshoumaru's face as he dug his toes deeper into the earth. Then he ran after his father, who was already headed towards the woods surrounding their home, his deep laughter trailing behind him.


	14. Whisper

Title: Speak Softly Next Time (#14 Whisper)

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Why they had to speak so loudly was beyond him.

* * *

He curled against his father, his hands clapped over his sensitive ears. Thunder boomed overhead and the wind howled as rain pelted the ground outside. He shivered, hoping that it would be interpreted as a chill instead of fear. Another crack of thunder had him tucking his small legs up to his chin as he tried his best to hide within the folds of his father's kimono.

A warm hand swept comfortingly over his hair from the crown of his head down to the middle of his shoulders. "Don't be afraid," his father quietly said. "That is just the sound of our ancestors speaking to one another."

Sesshoumaru looked up at him dubiously. "Why can't they just whisper then?"


	15. Fear

Title: #15 Fear

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: To be without fear would truly be foolish.

Note: Written before I read the issues involving Sesshoumaru's mother.

* * *

"You were brave back there," Inutaisho said, picking pieces of demon flesh out from under his claws.

"I failed to kill it," Sesshoumaru said blankly, staring at the corpse at their feet. He and his father had been on a regular border patrol when they had come across a demon from the South that had strayed into their territory. That particular demon had specialized in using fear to harm its enemies, seeing that it really didn't have much of an arsenal of physical weapons besides short, blunt claws. Now that it lay there lifeless, it seemed preposterous that Sesshoumaru had anything to fear from it in the first place. Then again, that was the nature of such beings. Things in shadow never seemed as fearsome when brought out into daylight.

Inutaisho absently licked the back of his hand before looking his son in the eye. "Yet you did not back down. That is admirable."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "A demon lord backs away from nothing." Inutaisho frowned. He didn't like the cold tone of voice that his son was adopting more and more as he grew older, nor the way he shut himself off emotionally from others. True, he had never been an overly expressive boy, but at times it felt as if he did not know his son any more.

"A demon lord backs away from nothing as long as he knows there is clear way to victory," Inutaisho corrected. "Merely running blindly into a battle because you are arrogant enough to think you will always come out the victor is stupidity. One must know their enemy and how to defeat them with all things thought out."

"And did you know this enemy, Father?"

"Not the physical being, no. Yet I know well the weapon that it possessed. Fear is with us all."

Sesshoumaru looked up sharply at his father. "You do not fear _anything_. I've seen you, I would have sensed it otherwise."

His father gave him a small smile that looked more weary than jovial. "No one is fearless. To be without fear would truly be foolish. You hesitated when you had the full opportunity to deal the death blow. Why?"

Sesshoumaru turned his head away and stared at the ground. "It became you." He looked up, his eyes cold and lifeless. "What made you kill it instead? Why were you not afraid?"

Inutaisho took a step towards his son. "Oh, but I was," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It knew my greatest fear and used it."

"What do you fear, Father?"

He paused, the tips of his fingers brushing the ends of his son's hair out of habit. Sesshoumaru was on the cusp of growing up. He wasn't quite yet an adult, nor could he be considered a child any longer. It was an awkward phase, not for Sesshoumaru, but for Inutaisho. He no longer knew how exactly to speak with his son. "I was not there when your mother died, and that has haunted me all these years. When you were younger, I feared that you would be attacked while I was away securing my borders, so I stayed behind and had others do the job for me. Now that you are older, I fear dying before you are ready to take my place and leaving you with more trouble than I am worth."

Sesshoumaru raised his chin. "I am older now."

Inutaisho raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You are ready to challenge me, to take over my lands and duties? Tell me, my boy, if you are so ready, then why did you hesitate when you were presented the chance to kill my form?"

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "Fear is a weakness. I am _not _weak."

Inutaisho's eyes softened. "No, you are not. Fear is only a weakness if you _allow_ it to be. You must work to go beyond that which frightens you, to cope with it. Only when you have learned to live with your fears do you seem fearless to others. That in itself is an important lesson."

Sesshoumaru looked slightly puzzled. "Then if you seem fearless, wouldn't your opponent think you foolish for being so?"

"Perhaps. Then again, if they thought you foolish they might tend to underestimate you in a fight, physical or otherwise. It would be in your advantage to keep them guessing."

"As part of strategically defeating them?"

"Indeed. Do you understand?"

Sesshoumaru tilted his head to the side. "I think so."

Inutaisho grinned. "Good. We only have a few more miles before heading home. Let's hurry back, I'm starving."

Sesshoumaru stared at his father's retreating back and let the newly gained information sink in. Then he tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, knelt, and gave the dead demon a full blast of acidic poison. He crinkled his nose at the smell of melting flesh, and then followed his father back home.


	16. Friendship

Title: An Unselfish Gesture (#16 Friendship)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho, Kagome

Summary: Sometimes people do favors for no reason.

* * *

He had known that the girl who traveled with his half-brother was different, but he didn't know how much until he saw her emerge from the well in the middle of the forest. He had expected her to scream or run towards the human village her company frequently stayed at once she saw him, but she only dropped the heavy yellow pack she carried to the ground and looked at him.

"Is Rin's cough better?" she asked, as if the two of them were on familiar terms.

He considered not replying just to be obstinate, but decided the girl's actions a week ago had merited an answer. "Yes." Rin had come down with a cough and a fit of nearly violent sneezing. The girl – no, Kagome, he corrected himself – had offered a medicine called an antihistamine that she promised would help, though it would make Rin quite sleepy. Sure enough, Rin had fallen asleep several minutes after swallowing the pills he had deemed safe and had stayed that way for some time. After she had woken up, her eyes had been clear and the sneezing had stopped.

Kagome smiled. "I'm glad." She bent down and fished around in her bag, coming up with another bottle of the pills she had given Rin. "Here's some more, if she needs them later on. With everything in bloom right now, her allergies may act up again."

He glanced at her offering. It was an unselfish gesture, one that he didn't understand. She hadn't asked for anything in return and he knew that his idiot half-brother would have been somewhere on the outskirts of the woods, dying to hear what was going on if she had come on his behalf.

"_Sometimes, people do favors for others for no reason,"_ Inutaisho had once told him.

"_But why?"_

"_To be kind."_

Being only a child at the time, he had scrunched up his nose in distaste. _"Kindness is a weakness."_

"_Not all the time,"_ his father had replied. _"How else would one gain allies?"_

Sesshoumaru blinked, brining himself back to the present. While he had no need to ally himself with their group, they were fighting a common enemy.

Tucking the medicines inside his clothes, he gestured to the west. "There are demons that have suddenly grown stronger on the outskirts of my territory. Your search for shards should pick up there."

She stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Before she could reply, he melted soundlessly back into the trees. He stood silent, watching as she struggled with her pack, amused when she started mumbling to herself.

"Inuyasha is never going to believe this," she muttered.

"All the more reason he does not have to know." He smirked when she jumped.

"So this is our little secret?" she asked, turning around to where she had heard his voice. He was vaguely surprised when she faced his direction on the first try.

"If it pleases you." He watched as she pulled something that made a great deal of crinkling noise out of the bag's side pocket.

"I had brought this for Shippo, but I think Rin might like it better." She placed the thing on the lip of the well, and then walked towards the village.

He stepped out of the trees' shadows and picked up the strange multicolored object, smelling nothing amiss. Trying it, he found that it was sweet to the taste, almost too sweet for his liking. He thought back and recalled the little fox demon enjoying such a treat, so he tucked it away next to the medicine.

Perhaps an alliance with Kagome would be beneficial, if he was pressed to make one.


	17. Soul

Title: Questions Without Answers (#17 Soul)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: What would he have to say if brought back?

* * *

Once he had realized the sword his father had left for him – he still sought the other, not thinking his brother deserved anything that belonged to their father – brought the dead back to life, he toyed with the idea of going to his father's bones and using it on them. Brought back to the world of the living, he would demand that his father explain his actions. He had tried and failed over the years to understand just why he would leave such a powerful relic to a child he had never truly laid eyes on while he had left his eldest son with something so useless.

He always talked himself out of it though, deciding that Inutaisho's soul should stay where it was. And if he were honest with himself, he would admit that he was almost afraid to hear what his father would have to say.


	18. Gift

Title: #18 Gift

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru

Rating: G

Summary: Some gifts are worth accepting even when the price of giving them is so high.

* * *

When Sesshoumaru saw the sword dangling from Bokusenou's limbs as if it were an overripe fruit ready to be picked, he knew that his father was dead. A knot formed in his throat; he couldn't breathe, couldn't _think_, couldn't do anything except blankly stare as the scabbard swung gently in the breeze, each movement scraping the bark ever so lightly. It wasn't as if the news should have surprised him - he had witnessed his father's condition the last time he had seen him. The scent of impending death had all but clung to Inutaisho as a lover might; clogging Sesshoumaru's nostrils and making him gag. Slowly, as if his arms were submerged underwater, he reached for the sword, delicately taking it off the tree demon's face when all he actually wanted to do was rip it off its moorings, shred the scabbard, and melt the blade. To have in his hands the sword that could bring the dead back to life…several thoughts quickly flitted through his brain. _Perhaps if he…there may still be time…where is his body?_ Hope made his chest tighten. Maybe his father had left him this sword because it truly was not his time to die, that he was meant to be brought back into the realm of the living. Inutaisho was always dropping hints and leaving complex word puzzles for those around him to figure out instead of just saying what he meant to say in the first place.

Then Sesshoumaru crushed whatever hope flared in his heart, constricting his chest even more. It was too late to do anything but wave the blade around his father's body. Those that carried the soul to the afterlife had already been and gone. The hand not holding Tenseiga curled into a fist and he felt the sharp prickle of claws cutting into the flesh of his palm. He had known that the last time he spoke with his father would be the last time he would _ever _speak to him. Yet that knowledge still didn't allow him to say the things he didn't exactly know how to put into words. He had longed to tell him not to go, to rest and regain his strength, to give his body time to heal. Selfish words had burned at the back of his throat like acid; he had suddenly wished that he was younger, that throwing himself at his father's feet and holding onto his hakama like he used to would have kept him from going to his death. That perhaps Inutaisho would have ruffled his hair and scooped him up in his arms and said that if it displeased him so, he wouldn't leave. Hell, he wished that he had offered to go in his father's stead to fetch his human love and their bastard child himself if it had meant that his father would have lived any longer.

But it was far too late to think about what could have been. Besides, knowing his father, he wouldn't have allowed Sesshoumaru to step foot near Izayoi or their brat, no matter how badly injured he had been. Father and son had been over the subject many times, nearly all conversations ending with either emotional or physical blows to both parties. Inutaisho knew how Sesshoumaru felt about Izayoi, how he disliked her for being the woman that took his mother's place in Inutaisho's heart. What he _hadn't _known was that Sesshoumaru had despised his father's unborn son even more, secretly fearing that just as his mother had been replaced, he too would be cast aside.

But damn, how he missed him. It was strange; Inutaisho had _always _been there, larger than life. Now that he held his father's sword in his hand and knew the consequences such actions brought about, it felt as if someone had cut away a piece of him that he hadn't known existed until he felt its absence. He felt hollow, realizing that he was suddenly alone for the first time in his life. There would be no more conversations, no more lessons, _no more Inutaisho_. That fact hit him harder than he expected it to, and he took an involuntary step backwards to stay balanced.

"What will you do now?" He turned his head up sharply and stared at Bokusenou. He had forgotten that he wasn't alone. Schooling his face into the mask of indifference he had perfected many years ago, he hoped his voice didn't reflect the turmoil he was feeling inside himself.

"My father once taught me an important lesson," he said slowly, trying to gather his thoughts into anything besides _dead, alone, dead, oh Father…_

"And what would that be?"

Sesshoumaru licked his lips, vaguely surprised to find them bone dry. "No matter how much you dislike a gift, be it the object itself or the reason it was given, you always accept it. You never know when you may actually have to use it." He numbly fastened the sword to his side, not wanting to acknowledge the way it somehow felt right, as if it were meant to be there in the first place. "Obviously whomever placed it here mistook Father's wish for me to have Tetsuaigainstead."

Bokusenou looked thoughtful. "Perhaps whomever placed it here was following Inutaisho's wishes down to the letter." He knew that Toto-sai had explicit instructions to place the sword that could not kill within Inutaisho's eldest son's hands. No other sword was to belong to him, and that was final. He merely elected not to share his information with the new Western Lord, feeling as if it would be better for Sesshoumaru to come to terms with that on his own.

Sesshoumaru would have none of it though. "I _will _own that sword," he said stubbornly, turning and making motions that the conversation was over.

"My boy…" Sorrow clung heavy around the younger demon's shoulders, even though he tried his best to hide it. Bokusenou wanted nothing more than to comfort him, to see the small boy that used to hang from his limbs whenever his father visited.

Yet Bokusenou was not prepared for the swift way Sesshoumaru spun around, or the violent glare that left his amber eyes blood red. _"No one_ has permission to call me that," he hissed, teeth bared. "The only one that did is gone." As soon as the sudden display of anger started, it was over, face once again melting into indifference. "I am finished here."

"Then I wish you luck, my Lord," he said, weathered tree limbs moving as if he were sketching Sesshoumaru a bow. Sesshoumaru said nothing, he merely turned on his heel and walked away with his back straight and shoulders back. Bokusenou decided not to say a word about the salty tang of tears the wind carried in his direction as the young demon lord departed.


	19. Jealousy

Title: #19 Jealousy

Characters: Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru, with an outside-looking-in Inuyasha

Rating: G

Summary: In some ways, Inuyasha thought Sesshoumaru was the luckier sibling.

Note: Companion piece to #7 Longing

* * *

Inuyasha rested his chin on his upraised knees as he looked at the village from his perch on a tree limb. Downtime was boring without any shard rumors to chase. Kagome had gone home through the well to gather more supplies and do something called make-up tests. The loud sound of feminine giggles followed by a resounding slap off in the distance said that Miroku was up to his usual antics and Sango had caught him red-handed. Shippo had cooped himself in Kaede's hut all day long, entertaining her with tales of their adventures. In all, it was a normal day. _Normal and boring,_ Inuyasha thought, looking around for something to keep his attention.

His eyes followed a young boy and his father, both of them taking advantage of the waning afternoon sunlight to put down their work tools and play. The boy was running circles around the man, who was pretending that he couldn't catch him only to reach out at the last minute, making his son shriek with laughter. Inuyasha let a small smile grace his lips at the joyous sound. He wondered, if his father had lived, would they have acted the same way? When he was younger, he had constant daydreams that one day the great dog demon that his mother always spoke so fondly of would come and take them both away to live happily ever after. They would live away from the scornful eyes and whispered insults, safe and content for the rest of their lives. Then he would remember that his father was dead and that the only living family from that side was a half-brother that either didn't know about his existence or didn't want anything to do with him. It put a major dampener on his childhood dreams of ever having a stable, happy family, to say the least.

Inuyasha watched as the father reached out and embraced his son, twirling the little boy around in a circle. If he unfocused his eyes, he could pretend that the light reflecting off the boy's hair turned it completely white. Yet try as he could, he couldn't imagine a small pair of triangular ears on top of the boy's head. Instead, he saw twin stripes on the boy's cheekbones and a small crescent moon peeking out from under his bangs. That set him back. Never in his life could he have imagined Sesshoumaru as anything other than what he was now - an aloof demon that only wanted their father's heirloom sword. It made him think; Sesshoumaru had been able to grow up with their father, had been the one out the two of them that actually knew what he looked like, what he sounded like. Inuyasha only had half-remembered moments taken from a woman that had been deeply in love. As nice as those memories were, the actual character of the great Inutaisho was glossed over by fanciful notions of true love and devotion. Even Myoga's recollections of his old man weren't much, seeing that they had elevated Inutaisho onto a hero-worshipping pedestal as high if not higher than Inuyasha's mother's memories.

Sesshoumaru knew better. He had been able to see what angered their father, what frightened him, what made him laugh. He had seen exactly who their father was firsthand, not through other people's recollections and hazy memories. He was lucky enough to have been able to speak to him, to have the chance to embrace him, to fight and argue with him, to be able to learn everything that a father had to teach his son.

Inuyasha watched silently as the man set his son down on the ground, his large hand tousling the boy's unruly hair. Without knowing it, his own hand went to the crown of his head, wondering what it would have felt like to have the heavy weight of someone's fingers running through his hair, how it would have felt to have a hand clasp his shoulder in a fatherly manner. He glanced at the sword hanging from his side and snorted. Yes, he may have in his possession the one item that Sesshoumaru wanted of their father's, but Sesshoumaru had every other thing that Inuyasha could have ever wanted yet could not obtain. Knowing that wallowing in old jealousies and picking at long-worn emotional scars was a pointless waste of time, Inuyasha jumped down from his perch and strode in the direction of the Bone-Eater's Well. Maybe going to Kagome's time and dragging her back would prove more entertaining than waiting around doing nothing. If anything, it would make a boring day just waiting around interesting, even if he did get sat for his effort.


	20. Courage

Title: Tactical Retreat (#20 Courage)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho, Inuyasha

Summary: Sometimes it takes more courage to admit defeat.

* * *

"There will be times when the best course of action in a battle is to withdraw from the fight."

"But won't that seem cowardly?"

"It may seem so, but isn't it better to walk away from a fight you can't win than to be killed?"

"I guess so, but it still sounds cowardly."

"My boy, sometimes it takes more courage to admit defeat than it does to plod on and be vanquished on the battlefield. You would do well to remember that."

Many years later, Sesshoumaru stood across from his enemy, severely wounded. It was mere luck that Inuyasha had finally figured out how to conjure the Wind Scar, but the effects were devastating, even when wielded by someone as bumbling as his half-brother. Nearly blinded by Sesshoumaru's poison, the fool was still trying to continue the fight.

Sesshoumaru ignored his sibling's accusations that he was running away, preferring to withdraw and heal instead of being humiliated by the possibility of defeat by a lowly half-breed.


	21. Hope

Title: A Hundred Steps Ahead (#21 Hope)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: He could never best his father at Shogi.

* * *

He could never best his father at Shogi. For every move he made, his father had already thought out and prepared several counter-moves. He glanced at his dwindling amount of pieces on the board and then at the ever growing pile next to his father's elbow. He sighed, tapping on a tile with the tips of his claws.

"Look for your opponent's weak spot and exploit it," his father said, his chin resting on his fists as he waited for Sesshoumaru to make his move.

Sesshoumaru stared hard at the table, the pieces becoming blurred images before his eyes. Then he saw something he hadn't seen before. Picking up his tile, he could only hope that this move would be enough to finally win him a game.


	22. Jewel

Title: Fickle Things (#22 Jewel)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: Patience will grant you what wishes may not.

Note: Question at the very bottom after main story.

* * *

He never had any use for a jewel that granted wishes. When he first heard of it, he had thought back to a conversation he had with his father back when he was very young. He had believed that there had been a magical carp living in their pond and had nearly drowned trying to catch it.

"Why would you want to do a thing like that?" his father had asked, rubbing him dry as he stood there in sodden kimono, his hair plastered to his scalp and hanging into his eyes in a stringy mess.

"So it would grant me a wish."

"And what wish would you have asked for?"

The answer came without any hesitation. "To be a great and powerful demon."

His father had stared at him for a long time before opening his mouth. "And could you attain this wish any other way? Perhaps by hard work and continuing your studies?"

Sesshoumaru had blinked. "I didn't think about that," he admitted.

"Magic wishes are fickle things, my boy. If you don't clearly specify what you want, then you never know what you may get. Your wish could have transformed you into a powerful demon, but with no sense on how to use that power except for senseless destruction. What would you have done then?

"Never wish for something when all that you need is time and patience to obtain your goal. Remember that, my son."

In the end, his father had been right. Sesshoumaru grew up to be a powerful demon in his own right and he hadn't needed a magic wish to do so. He had nearly everything he could ever want – if he didn't personally kill Inuyasha, then someone else would end the fool's life, leaving him his honored father's sword to claim – so he didn't have the drive to gather small shards of a fragmented jewel like so many lesser demons did.

He glanced at his left side, the empty sleeve billowing in the breeze. It would take time, but his arm would eventually heal. Until then, it was just an inconvenience he would one day overcome.

No, he had no need for magic wishes. He merely needed time and patience, both of which he happened to have in abundance.

* * *

Note: I'm horrible at following current events, but I read somewhere online that Sesshoumaru got his arm back? Is that true? If so, then this was written before that happened.


	23. Karma

Title: Up-do (#23 Karma)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho, Rin

Summary: It was going to take him hours to undo her handiwork.

* * *

Sesshoumaru winced at the sudden pain radiating from the crown of his head. His back was stiff and his neck muscles ached from pulling against the weight on his hair. His young ward didn't notice, being far too involved in knotting every single strand of his hair into what she called a braid.

He glanced heavenward and wondered if this was punishment for how he had scoffed at his father's attachment and subsequent love for human females. He could all but hear the familiar rolling laughter at his predicament.

Rin clapped her hands, topping off his finished look with a wreath of flowers. Sesshoumaru refrained from sneezing.


	24. Death

Title: Die With Dignity (#24 Death)

Rating: PG for slight violence

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: "Do it quickly, then move on."

* * *

Sesshoumaru stared at the bird in his hands, feeling the life ebb out of the creature just as its blood seeped between his fingers. It had been a messy kill; feathers were strewn everywhere, which was something he knew his father would comment on. He had only caught birds in his hands before, he hadn't had to try and kill them.

"The bird is still alive," Inutaisho said instead, folding his arms across his chest.

"It will be dead soon." Already, the once frantic heartbeat had turned sluggish.

"A most violent death, in bird standards," He plucked a feather out of his young son's hair. "Seeing as this is the first kill you've made on your own, let me teach you something." He looked down at Sesshoumaru, who looked up expectantly at him, his hands still cupped around the dying bird.

"No matter how powerful you become or how long you live, you are not invincible. There will always be someone that will be able to kill you."

"Someone older and stronger?" Sesshoumaru's eyes went wide.

Inutaisho smiled faintly at his expression. "Perhaps, but do not discount the ones smaller than yourself either. They have as much of a chance of ending your life as the others do." He knelt and gently took the bird out of his son's hands. It looked even more pitiful against his larger claws. "Place yourself in the bird's position, my boy. Would you like to die in pain, your life prolonged by a messy kill?"

Sesshoumaru swallowed hard. "No."

"Then let this be your first lesson when dealing with death: allow your opponent to die with dignity. Kill quickly and then move on." As if reading his son's mind, he put a hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "You will have years to learn and practice the many ways available to kill, do not worry." He positioned his son's claws over the bird's weakly beating heart. "Quickly, understand?"

After dispatching the bird, Sesshoumaru placed it near a bush, where scavengers would find it. "But father," he said, his face confused. "What of the people that kill slowly all the time?"

Inutaisho frowned, knowing which rival demon clans his son was referring to. "It is an effective tactic to use at times, such as when you want to drive a point home to your enemies, but it is something that should not be used frequently."

"Why?"

Inutaisho stood up and placed a hand on his son's head. His eyes seemed to be looking inward at something Sesshoumaru couldn't see, even as his fingers slid through his hair. "Those that kill only to cause fear have no real power. They are nothing but overgrown bullies, afraid that if they do not show their capabilities for violence, others much stronger will overthrow them."

"Like you?" Sesshoumaru's father was the strongest demon he knew; he wanted nothing more than to grow up and be like him.

"Like me, yes. Though truthfully, they are not worth my time and it is best for everyone around if we left them alone."

"I think I understand," Sesshoumaru said.

Inutaisho smiled. "Good." He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "That is enough for one day. Come, it's nearly time for dinner." He swept Sesshoumaru up, hoisting the boy on his shoulders as easily as if he had weighed nothing and the two of them headed back home.


	25. Lies

Title: Stretching the Truth (#25 Lies)

Rating: G

Characters: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: "It wasn't me!"

* * *

"One that makes a living telling untruths is without honor, especially when evidence points in their direction," Inutaisho sternly said, staring at the mess his once neatly organized desk had become, complete with puddles of ink that were suspiciously handprint-shaped.

Sesshoumaru looked down miserably at the ruined tatami mats, still trying to rub the black stains off his fingers.


	26. Travel

Title: No Shortcut in Sight (#26 Travel)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: He was going to outlaw shoes once he gained power.

* * *

"One day, my boy, all this will be yours," his father said as they inspected the borders of their territory. Sesshoumaru promised himself that as soon as he gained control of the land, he would find a better way to travel through it, preferably one that did not cause his small feet to blister inside his barely worn boots from the miles and miles of walking. He flexed his toes, promising himself that when he grew older, he would never wear shoes ever again. How his father traveled for miles and miles while wearing similar footwear was beyond him.

Pain blossomed across the balls of his feet and he wished he was still young enough to ask his father for a shoulder ride.


	27. Laughter

Title: Splash of Color (#27 Laughter)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho, Rin

Summary: Her mirth takes him back to when he was younger.

* * *

He watches Rin play among the spring flowers, her laughter ringing out over Jaken's attempts to keep her from "bothering Lord Sesshoumaru with your senseless noise." He doesn't really mind; her mirth takes him back to when he was her age or younger, crisp fall leaves stuck in his hair and inside his kimono, his father's booming laugh echoing in his ears as they prepared to launch an attack on yet another unfortunate pile of leaves.

"_Laugh, my boy, else everything in life becomes gray and dull."_

He hasn't thought of times like that in ages. The memory makes a knot of longing form in his throat and he suddenly has to look away.


	28. Secrets

Title: Hidden Truths (#28 Secrets)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho, Izayoi

Summary: He didn't know what his father was hiding from him, but he didn't like it.

* * *

Sesshoumaru did not like the mysterious way that his father would tactfully evade answering when he inquired as to where he had been all that day and deep into the evening. The quiet smile and sense of contentedness put him on edge, as did the irritating way his father would disappear from him in the forest, despite his best efforts to track him. It did seem like Inutaisho laughed more freely than Sesshoumaru could remember him doing nowadays, and his step was lighter, as if he were happier than he had been in a long time.

He frowned and felt resentful towards whomever or whatever it was that was making his father keep things from him. Nothing good would come of this secret, of that Sesshoumaru was certain.


	29. Anniversary

Title: Repetition (#29 Anniversary)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: Every year he gets the same answer.

* * *

Every year he stands on the shore and holds a mental conversation with his father. There were times in the past that he'd yell and rage while pacing back and forth, his fists held tight at his sides while arguing that a human woman and her unborn child hadn't been worth dying for. Other times he speaks quietly, telling his father what had happened during the year, of territories and treaties, his hands gesturing every so often to emphasize a point. There are even years where he asks for advice, hoping for something, _anything_, even the cryptically delivered pieces of wisdom his father had been so fond of doling out.

Yet year after year, all Sesshoumaru ever hears for a reply are the crashing sounds of the waves pounding the shore.


	30. Festival

Title: Guiding You Home (#30 Festival)

Rating: G

Character/Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho

Summary: "Do the dead ever come back?"

Note: And that makes thirty. Inutaisho and Sesshoumaru claim complete.

* * *

"What is going on?" Sesshoumaru asked, staring down at the humans dancing around and lighting paper lanterns.

"They are celebrating the lives of those who have died," his father replied. "The lanterns are there to welcome the dead back to the village."

"But do the dead ever come back?"

Inutaisho spread his hands and shrugged. "I do not know, my boy. Perhaps they do."

Years later, when Sesshoumaru had newly taken over his father's title and lands, he had lit lanterns to coax his father back to the living, but nothing had come of it save for the piles of ashes where each lantern had eventually caught fire and smoldered out.


End file.
